One Last Chance
by monkeycgm
Summary: Katie Bell is getting married to a guy that's all wrong for her. She may not realize it but her friends would do anything to make sure she finds real happiness, including a plot which involves the man she always dreamed of, Marcus Flint.


Chapter 1

Harry Potter not mine!!!

As her best friends sat across from her at the trendy Diagon Alley restaurant, Katie Bell tried feebly to resist their combined pressuring.

"Come Katie, you have to come; it's your Hen night. Your last chance to be wild and crazy before you get transformed to a boring and biddable housewife."

"Yeah Kates, you're only 23! Act your age! You never used to be this boring before…!"

"Daniel!!!" they said in unison, with a tone of utter disgust.

"Can you not talk about him, please? I'm getting married in a matter of days, all the plans are screwed up, and my best friends can't even say my fiancées name without inducing a gag reflex," Katie said, the stress of the situation evident in her voice.

"Ok, Ok. We get it. We'll shut up about "The Fiancé Who Cannot Be Named"" Alicia said making air quotes around the last part. Angelina struggled to keep from laughing.

"All the more reason to have a wild Hen night. What better stress relief is there than to drink, relax, and dance with random attractive guys?"

"Dance? More like shag. What's the fun if you don't get a few orgasms out of it?"

"Alicia!!!" Katie replied, utterly mortified. "We are in a public place"

"What? It's not like I don't talk about sex all the time. A woman on the verge of being trapped in marriage for the rest of her life shouldn't have a problem saying the word."

"I'm not being trapped" Katie replied weakly. She really wasn't. Daniel was a nice enough guy, her parents adored him, and she thought she might love him. She had never been in love, and so she figured this was it. She was kind of disappointed, it was hardly what you read about in novels, but then again, that was fiction. That didn't exist in real life. And he seemed to be the perfect man, with the perfect job, and somehow willing to commit. Who could ask for more?

"Then come with us. Let us have one last night of being the sexiest trio in the wizarding world before we become infinitely reduced to a dynamic duo. "

"Do it for us!"

"I guess…I guess I could go…." Was all that Katie got out before she was interrupted by the excited chatter of her excited best friends. "I just won't tell Daniel what I'm doing….he would be horrified" she thought.

* * *

Later that night, Katie found herself smoothing down her impossibly short skirt down, cursing herself for letter Angie and Alicia pick out her outfit. True, she did look good but, she was uncomfortable as hell. She couldn't believe she even owned these clothes, but she had once been known to frequent clubs and even to be the life of the party on occasions. 

They had chosen a club that catered to a mix of tastes, both magical and muggle. Her best friends had found it recently and, having exhausted the supply of cute, single, wizards of a certain age, decided that cute, single, muggles were better. There were of course some wizards that even her gorgeous best friends did not approach, for as much as they preached fun and casual sex, they were indeed looking for love. And lord knew that Slytherin's rarely married outside of their house and class, hell Katie knew from personal experience…but that was a different story. She tried not to think about it much now, she had Daniel, and he would be enough. He would have to be.

Having been off the party scene for a while, it took Katie a long time (and a few drinks) to relax but eventually she had reached the "optimal buzz" and was ready to have the time of her life. Her friends, crazy as always, were grinding on the dance floor with attractive males that looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place them. She was subtly swaying to the music, ready to dance herself, when she heard a deep, sexy voice behind her.

"Want to dance?" She turned around but remained silent; words escaped her when she saw his face. Not only was he sexy as hell, but he was her fantasy. The one guy she had always wanted but never had. And now he was here, in front of her.

She nodded and he took her hand.

* * *

Marcus stood across the club, ordering another drink and wondering why his mates had suddenly decided to switch the location for their weekly fun fest. Not that he didn't like the décor, the cozy couches that lined the walls would be ideal if only had someone to passionately press against them. And finding a willing woman would not be the problem, but lately he had grown tired of the mindless babble of groupies, and longed for someone with a little more substance. 

That was one good thing about this place; he could finally go somewhere that over half of the people did not recognize him. That was certainly a rare occurrence for a pro quidditch player, named sexiest man alive several years running.

The bartender finished pouring the drinks; Marcus grabbed them quickly and headed over to the table where his buddies were in the midst of discussion on some chick across the bar. Grabbing his beer, Marcus turned his head to the girl, no woman they were looking at. She looked vaguely familiar but he thought he would remember if he had met this beauty. She was trim, athletic, with long blond hair and a beautiful face. She resembled his groupies in no way, she had an air of intelligence about her that was rare in the women he usually met.

"Who are we looking at?" He finally asked. Marcus could certainly understand their attention to her but was curious about her identity.

"That," replied Terrance "is little Katie Bell, all grown up". Marcus' emotion at hearing that name was evident for a few seconds before he plastered on a look of disinterest. "I heard she's getting married soon, saw it in the paper. Some bloke from the ministry, looked boring as hell but to each his own I guess".

Marcus was so lost in his thoughts after he heard that last bit of information, that he didn't notice his friends' interest in his reaction. He didn't notice that they seemed to be baiting him into finally taking action.

He really shouldn't be surprised that she had turned out so beautiful, he had always been attracted to her, but the timing was off. She was too young for him, and his opposite in so many ways, he shouldn't have dreamed about her. Shouldn't have wanted to defy every unwritten rule and pursue a semblance at happiness with her. He had tried to put her out of his mind, tried to ignore their intense connection, to find happiness in physical release, but something had been missing. Something that was distinctly her, no one could ever compare.

And now she was getting married, she was still so young; he never thought he would be losing his opportunity at exploring their chemistry so soon. This was his only chance. He had to act now, there might never be another like it.

"Want to dance?" He asked, hoping his nervousness wasn't obvious in his voice. She turned around and looked totally shocked. Marcus hoped she was not offended by his offer; maybe she had been oblivious to the very attraction that had consumed him at Hogwarts. Maybe she would refuse him and laugh about the whole experience later in the arms of the man she was marrying. But instead she just nodded her head.


End file.
